Trey Hendrickson is the Week 18 AFC Defensive Player of the Week. The news marks Hendrickson'sthird time winning the award after notching five tackles, 3.5 sacks, seven pressures (second-most in a game this season), and one pass breakup.
It helped him finish first in the NFL with 17.5 sacks this season. Bengals players have combined for 21 weekly honors (Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams) since the start of the 2021 season, the third-most in the NFL in that span. Hendrickson also won this award in Week 9.
TGI(Trey).
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 8, 2025
: https://t.co/wkdKcsVwfC pic.twitter.com/E7uZmeqxfh
Trey Hendrickson named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) January 8, 2025
He's the third #Bengals player to win multiple DPOW awards in a season.
David Fulcher won three in 1989
Carlson Dunlap won two in 2019
More must-reads:
A Minnesota Vikings wide receiver's season is already over. The Minnesota Vikings announced on Tuesday that wide receiver Rondale Moore is being placed on season-ending injured reserve due to a leg injury that he suffered in the team's first preseason game against the Houston Texans this past weekend. It is a devastating blow for Moore who is now being sidelined for an entire season, before it even begins, for the second year in a row. Moore signed a one-year, $2 million contract in free agency with the Vikings this offseason in the hopes he could return from a different injury that cost him the entirety of the 2024 season. Moore was a member of the Atlanta Falcons in 2024 after being acquired in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for backup quarterback Desmond Ridder. This is now two different teams that Moore has been a part of but will never play a game for them due to injuries. Moore was injured while returning a punt. He began his career with the Arizona Cardinals, catching 135 passes for 1,201 yards over three seasons before being traded. He was never going to be counted on to be a key contributor for the Vikings offense this season, especially given the superstars they already have at wide receiver in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but he still had a chance to be an interesting depth player. Now it is fair to wonder what the rest of his career might even look like. Missing two full seasons due to two different leg injuries is going to be a brutal thing to try to come back from. Missing two seasons for any reason is difficult, but when you add the leg injuries to the equation, it makes the obstacle even steeper.
The Milwaukee Brewers came out on top once again on Tuesday, sending yet another strong statement to the rest of the big leagues in the form of a 14-0 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The Brewers have now won 11 straight games, while improving to 75-44 overall. As for the Pirates, they have lost their fourth consecutive contest while dropping to 51-70. Making the night even worse for the Pirates was the apparent head injury suffered by outfielder Oneil Cruz. He collided with teammate Jack Suwinski in the fourth inning as both players tried to make a defensive play. Cruz stayed in the game for a bit but was removed in the sixth inning for pinch-hitter and veteran Tommy Pham. The Pirates have yet to disclose the exact nature of Cruz’s injury, so it’s possible that he could be ruled out for the series finale this Wednesday. So far in the 2025 MLB regular season, the 26-year-old Dominican is leading the Pirates with 18 home runs to go with 51 RBIs, but is also hitting just .207/.304 /398. Milwaukee Brewers aiming for a Pirates sweep All eyes will once again be on the Brewers this Wednesday, as they have a chance to stretch their win streak to a dozen games and add more to their lead atop the National League Central standings. After Paul Skenes failed to deliver on the mound for the Pirates on Tuesday, Pittsburgh will have Mitch Keller toeing the rubber. Keller was solid in his previous start versus the Brewers, pitching six innings of one-run ball while striking out seven hitters in a 2-1 victory at home back in May. As for Milwaukee, it will give the ball to Brandon Woodruff, who is 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in three starts at home, thus far this season.
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California in 2023. He suffered an injury his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
The Buffalo Bills avoided the worst-case scenario with Maxwell Hairston, but the first-round pick still looks unlikely to begin the season on time. How much of the season he misses now looks like the key question. Hairston suffered an LCL sprain early in training camp. While this represented a significant break for the Bills after an ACL tear was initially feared, Sean McDermott said an IR stint to open the season is in play. Due to Hairston’s recovery timeline, McDermott confirmed (via The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia) the team will probably need to discuss the prospect of Maxwell opening the season on IR. On a positive note, McDermott said (via the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski) Hairston is off crutches. Buffalo would have two IR options with Hairston. The team could use one of its two summer IR-return slots, which are available to teams before roster-cutdown day, to save a roster spot as Hairston continues to rehab. The Bills could also carry Hairston on the 53-man roster past cutdown day and then shift him to IR. The second path would be unlikely, as it is expected Hairston will be back to contribute as a rookie. He thus makes sense for one of the team’s August IR-return slots, which must be announced by 3 p.m. CT Aug. 26. Last year, the Bills used both their summer IR-return slots — which became available to teams beginning in 2024 — by stashing Matt Milano and running back Darrynton Evans on their injured list. This covered two of Buffalo’s eight injury activations. While Milano returned from IR late in the season, the Bills did not activate Evans and instead cut him. The team had aimed for Hairston to start opposite the recently extended Christian Benford, letting Rasul Douglas test free agency. While the two-year Buffalo starter remains available, the Bills have reunited with Tre’Davious White. The former All-Pro, whose career skidded off track due to ACL and Achilles tears, is moving toward a chance to start again. This represents a risk due to White’s recent form, but the Bills have been pleased with how the nine-year veteran has looked during camp. White is going into his age-30 season and struggled in four Rams starts, being traded (to the Ravens) in a seventh-round pick swap at the deadline. Baltimore used White as a backup in seven games. White started 82 games for the Bills from 2017-23. Buffalo also reunited with 28-game starter Dane Jackson this offseason; Jackson spent 2023 with the Panthers. Hairston missing this much practice time will likely affect his development. The Bills will not be eligible to designate the Kentucky product to return to practice until after Week 4. It would make sense Hairston hitting IR would lead to a longer absence than the four-game minimum, as the team would seemingly want him to ramp up during practice. The Bills could avoid this scenario by keeping Hairston off IR, using a week-to-week strategy that would allow for earlier practice work in the event he is ready.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!